This invention relates to an apparatus for automatically spraying an area such as a bath or shower enclosure. More particularly, it relates to manifold structures for use therewith.
There are a number of devices that have been developed for spraying an area. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,021,494 describes a device for spraying the walls and doors of bath and shower enclosures with a cleaning solution in an automated fashion. This device incorporates a pump for extracting liquid from a storage reservoir and ejecting it through a nozzle housed in a rotating turret.
Various tubing and connections are required to mount and link the pump to its source and outlet, permit appropriate air venting, avoid unwanted backflow, accommodate the motor and pump, and link to a nozzle rotating system. All of this must be achieved while avoiding leakage of water into the device from the surrounding shower environment and other fluid leaks at the various internal connections. Requiring numerous parts that must be separately formed and assembled can increase the costs associated with the device, especially from the standpoint of increasing manufacturing costs of the components, labor costs relating to assembling the device, and quality control costs (e.g., checking for leakage at the joints between the parts).
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,638 there was disclosed a bottom pouring pot reservoir whose outflow and venting were controlled by a housing that accommodated some of the valving. While this approach addressed some of the above issues, it still was somewhat complicated (and thus costly) to manufacture, and further did not accommodate a motor or pumping apparatus (as distinguished from just using gravity flow).
U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,472 showed the use of one type of clamshell construction for accommodating various inlets and valving for use in a gas chromatography context. However, again, there was no teaching of how to accommodate a motor or pumping apparatus.
Accordingly, there still exists a need in the art for an improved assembly structure for internal portions of an automated sprayer that incorporates a motor or pumping apparatus.